Seven Script Elements

1. A hero – the person through whose eyes we see the story unfold, set against a larger background.

2. The hero’s character flaw – a weakness or defense mechanism that hinders the hero in such a way as to render him/her incomplete.

3. Enabling circumstances – the surroundings the hero is in at the beginning of the story, which allow the hero to maintain his/her character flaw.

4. An opponent – someone who opposes the hero in getting or doing what he/she wants. Not always a villain. For example, in a romantic comedy, the opponent could be the man or woman whom the hero seeks romance with. The opponent is the person who instigates the life-changing event.

5. The hero’s ally – the person who spends the most onscreen time with the hero and who helps the hero overcome his/her character flaw.

6. The life-changing event – a challenge, threat or opportunity occurring at the end of Act I, usually instigated by the opponent, which forces the hero to respond in some way that’s related to the hero’s flaw.

7. Jeopardy – the high stakes that the hero must risk to overcome his/her flaw. These are the dramatic events that lend excitement and challenge to the quest. Acts 1-3 and Their Plot Points

Screenplays follow a formula. I suppose I should say, good screenplays follow a formula. The masterful screenwriter Syd Field refers to this formula as "The Paradigm," which means model. Certain story elements called "plot points" fit this model and need to fall at specific times during

the screenplay to keep the story moving smoothly, to keep the reader and the viewer interested in what is happening in front of them.

The formula you will read it about has five elements: Beginning/Inciting Incident, Plot Point 1, Pinch, Plot Point 2, Ending. It is important to note that once you have all these elements mapped out, only then will you be ready to start writing. Noteworthy, the following rules are not set in stone. If you can bend a rule and make something work, more power to you. I've also included references to my own work which none of you have read or yet seen to help illustrate.

A screenplay is made up of three acts. Roughly, the acts are broken down as such: Act 1 spans pages 1-30. Act 2 spans pages 30-90. Act 3 spans pages 90 to 120. One page equals one minute of screen time. 1:1

Over the course of Act 1, you will set up your story as well as your characters. Use this time to let the audience know what you're characters are like, where they came from, their back story. In "Dumb & Dumber," we find out the type of people Lloyd and Harry are long before they leave on their journey. You can accomplish this through dialogue, scenes, flashbacks, however you wish.

Act 2 is all about confrontation and presented in two parts (explained later). Confrontation puts your characters into difficult situations, now they must overcome. Every genre of film has confrontation. Watch films, read screenplays and notice what kind of things characters have to overcome. Problems arise for characters on the way to their goal. Problems could differ from fighting a lot of bad guys for revenge to obstacles involved with asking a girl out. The character's problems can change as well and evolve with whatever situation they're in at the moment.

Acts 1-3 and Their Plot Points

Act 3 wraps the story up. It ties loose ends and gives closure. Act 3 of "Jarhead" revolves around Swoff and sniper team partner Alan Troy finally getting the chance to kill someone. Even though their kill is "stolen" they still got the chance and had their war. After they return home,

the stories of the soldiers are concluded: Swoffard lives in seclusion, Troy dies and so on.

The Beginning/Inciting Incident takes place during Act 1. The beginning of your screenplay needs to be awesome. It needs to draw the audience in within the first 10 pages. If some part of the story hasn't grabbed the reader by page 10, they will stop reading. Script readers are generally made up of people who will take any excuse not to read what is in front of them. That's not to say they don't do they're jobs or are lazy, they just read so many screenplays per day they're more than happy to discard one that doesn't grab their attention. If something hasn't happened by page 10, you can kiss your audience goodbye.

So the first 10 pages is what makes up your Beginning. Come up with something that will keep your reader reading. For example in my latest screenplay, the main character bleeds out on his bathroom floor on page 7. That image is going to keep people reading and viewers watching; they'll want to know if this guy lives and how. As a side note, this incident is the source of what my main character has to overcome throughout the rest of the screenplay. This event also serves as my Inciting Incident.

The Inciting Incident is what unbalances your story and gets things moving initially. David Trottier explains this as the event that spins the story out of control. Sometimes the Inciting Incident and Plot Point 1 are the same, though they don't have to be. My Inciting Incident, where the main character bleeds out, is what causes the entire rest of the story to happen. The Inciting Incident can occur anywhere in the first act but not after Plot Point 1. Make sense?

Acts 1-3 and Their Plot Points

Plot Point 1 is what pushes the story from act 1 to act 2. Plot Point 1 can be an incident, a segment, line of dialogue or something as simple as a shot of scenery. Do what works for your story, always. You've set up the story and the characters during act 1, Plot Point 1 essentially ends

the first act and allows act 2 to begin. Plot point 1, as Field explains it, is "...the true beginning of the story." To once again reference "Dumb & Dumber," the story truly begins once Harry and Lloyd decide to track down Mary Swanson in Aspen and return her briefcase. The road trip and events that occur

during their time in Aspen is the real story. Plot Point 1 occurs anywhere between pages 20-30.

As I stated above act 2 is really two parts. These two parts are glued together by the Pinch. The Pinch like any plot point pushes the story in a different direction and causes a whole new set of circumstances. For our friends Harry and Lloyd, (it's an easy reference, leave me alone) the pinch comes when they discover the case they've been lugging around is packed full of money. From there they go on a ridiculous spending spree and all but completely forget their original mission.

In my latest screenplay the Pinch comes when the company my main character works for goes bankrupt and he's out of job and stranded in a foreign country with a decision to make: does he stay with his new friends and live off the money he does have, or does he cut his losses and move back to America? The event of losing his job and the decision itself is what connects the two halves of act 2 together. The Pinch can be a little harder to spot because not everyone uses it in their work.

Plot Point 2 is similar to Plot Point 1 in that it pushes the action into another act; in this case act 3: the wrapping up of the story. Plot Point 2 can also be anything you want it to be. Maybe you're character has been struggling through act 2 with his girlfriend and at Plot Point 2 he finally asks her to marry him and act 3 is the wedding itself. If you can make plot point 2 push the story in, again, another direction, you've succeeded. Plot Points are nothing more than story anchors; you put them in place and build the story around them. They help move the plot along. Plot Point 2 occurs between pages 80-90.

Acts 1-3 and Their Plot Points

Ending! This seems easy enough. Does your character accomplish his goal or not? What happens at the end? At the end of "The Departed," the mole (Matt Damon) inside SIU is finally, at long last, discovered and Mark Wahlberg blows his brains out all over the door. This simple scene wraps

everything up. No real loose ends to speak of. We get closure. The bad guy doesn't get away with it. So, what happens to your character? Does he return home? Does she divorce her husband? It's very important to figure out your ending first. That way everything your character does, every line he speaks, every step she takes is for that ending. If you know where your story is going, trust me, it will make writing a whole lot easier.

I hope this has cleared things up and hasn't been confusing. Read all you can on the topic of screenwriting.

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